Thai police forced to apologize after telling accident victim: "Why report it - what's in it for us?"

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

The acting chief of the Bangsaotong police station in Samut Prakan has ordered one of his men to apologize after a member of the public came in to report a large hole in the road that caused several accidents.

 

She said police told her it had nothing to do with them.

 

"A", 26, went on Facebook to complain after what happened. She had been driving home to Pathum Thani in her Nissan March when she hit an exposed cover on a drain on a damaged section of road.

 

There was no cone to mark the danger and four motorcyclists had already been injured before her. 

 

Her vehicle had 30,000 baht damage to the gas tank and a puncture.

 

She went to the station to report the incident ahead of making a claim with the relevant authority.

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

But she was told:

 

"Why are you bothering us with this?

 

"It's your problem.

 

""There's nothing in it for us"

 

It was even suggested in the rude response that there were plenty of decent roads to use.

 

Pol Col Prathan Nanthakopkul, provincial deputy and acting chief of the station, heard about the case and made the officer concerned phone and apologize to the lady for the poor service.

 

It will be further discussed between the police and the lady on Friday.

 

Locals at the scene complained about the state of the road and called for repairs. The offending hole had been repaired. 

 

Thai Rath had a picture of ranks of police lined up at the police station though whether it had a bearing on the case they did not say. 

 

Health insurance plans that meet the long stay visa requirements

 

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2022-02-24

 

- Aetna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

[RandiRona]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

"There's nothing in it for us"

Ain't that the truth!! Applaud them for their honesty! NOT!!

[Geoffggi]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

But she was told:

"Why are you bothering us with this?

"It's your problem.

"There's nothing in it for us"

 

Typical response when making any complaint to the police, unless they have a way of making money out of it they are not interested.

[tlcwaterfall]

"He was forced to apologize".

 

He should have been sacked on the spot if the commanding officer had any decency, intelligence or commonsense.

[Dmaxdan]

In fairness this is more of a problem for the local ministry of transport than it is for the police.

Although the police could have got off their backsides and put some sort of warning at the offending area. But then again, if nobody had accidents the police wouldn't make any money from people having to pay their fines....

[joloit]

It‘s difficult to believe their reaction!!

[ThailandRyan]

I guess since they do not enforce the traffic laws then taking an accident report, and yes it is an accident if it causes damage, then they do just sit around all day drinking and waiting for that auspicious brown envelope.  Time to fire all of the <deleted> and replace them with people who would do the job for a decent salary...These guys are no better then the Mexican police....corruption at all levels.

Edited February 24, 2022 by metisdead
Vulgar trolling comment removed.

[ezzra]

This policeman has to be sent to be re-trained all over again to learn that not all that you're thinking you can say them out loud...

[ikke1959]

It happens everywhere I know a case where the RTP would investigate if they got paid.... I think it is their duty to investigate properly without extra payment

[SAFETY FIRST]

Aaaah, the old what's in it for me (WIFM). 

 

Yes I've used this method many times but I'm not getting paid to protect the public.

 

It's the policeman job to keep the public safe. 

 

Another sad story for the Thai Police force and a good example of the poor training they are receiving. 

 

[spidermike007]

Pol Col Prathan Nanthakopkul, provincial deputy and acting chief of the station, heard about the case and made the officer concerned phone and apologize to the lady for the poor service.

 

I am sorry. I forgot what my real job was. The franchise that I am working can be very distracting sometimes, and requires constant diligence and creativity, so I sometimes forget my real job description.

 

the RTP at it's inception seems to have been created with a status quo from the government. We will NOT pay you a living wage, but you have a franchise, and the limit of your income is based solely on your own creativity and initiative, and you will always be protected. Is that not the case? There is one aspect of this, that always has to be taken into account. I think most Thais get it. But most foreigners do not. The police here own franchises. They are franchisees. They are not law enforcement officials. They rarely engage in law enforcement, traffic safety, or public safety. They are not here for the benefit of the people, and they are not here to keep us safe. They are here to collect. That is all they do. If you need to give them an official title, it would be that of a revenue collection agent. Only it is their own account, that they represent. Nobody will ever touch them. They are protected at the highest levels. They do as they please, and Thailand remains a relatively lawless state. 

The extraordinary aspect of all of this, is how much of a tribute this is, to the Thai people. Despite the lack of law and order, and the extraordinary lack of a deterrent, Thailand remains a relatively safe place to live, and to travel, and crime is far lower than it would be in almost any other country, without law and order. I consider this to be a great example of how good most Thai people really are, and how (relatively speaking) honorable they are, as a people. I never feel threatened here. I can walk the streets of most cities late at night, and never feel afraid of my security, like in many other nations. The most dangerous place in this country is on the roads.

 

 

[2long]

He said, she said.

It was suggested.

Then translated...

 

Cops here are sh*te. We all know that.

But this isn't strictly a thing that they are responsible for, is it? Come on... be honest.

[richard_smith237]

SOP for the Police here...  Very little is done without an unwritten ‘whats in it for them’ clause.

 

Its long been known that if you want something investigated or reported the only way to make the BiB pay the remotest bit of interest is to ‘make it worth their while’ either with the carrot of financial benefit or the stick of using ‘connections’ to force their hand. 

 

Social media has become the most effective tool at getting the BiB to do some work !!!....   the face saving, the back-peddling, the juvenile excuses are often quite hilarious while also saddening at the same time for they highlight an underlying firm sense of entitlement that they ’should be paid’ to do ‘extra work’ as the BiB clearly consider police work and serving the community beyond their remit. 

 

 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Does anybody know what those traffic police officers actually do?

They don't care when lots of bikes all the time ignore red lights.

They don't care when cars and bike and trucks ignore zebra crossings.

They don't care when people try to drive while playing with their phones.

What do they do and what do they get paid for?

[BestB]

Can point fingers all you like but until their salary triples at the very least, nothing will change.

 

[kotsak]

Truer words were never spoken..

 

[RafPinto]

Surprised that this lady hasn't been threatened with ..... in case she goes public or doesn't apologise to the honest member of the RTP

[sammieuk1]

Just a case about driving down a hole and the police unwilling to do anything with no means to make any money all perfectly normal at the zoo ????

[Mr Meeseeks]

54 minutes ago, BestB said:

Can point fingers all you like but until their salary triples at the very least, nothing will change.

 

In Thailand, you have to think like this:

 

Why would you pay three times the going rate for next to nothing extra in return?

 

If you have the money, just hire three of them. 

 

That single person is never going to improve regardless of how much you pay him, he's already at the limit of his capabilities. 

[swm59nj]

I’m not sure who you call here in Thailand for road damage.  In the states I would call the local road department.  If it was a dangerous situation the local police.  Where I lived there was cold and snow.  So not unusual to get very large potholes at times.

Ok officer apologized.  But the mention “nothing is in it for us”.  I think that calls for some type of discipline. 

 

 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The offending hole had been repaired. 

The officers been gagged?

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Typical response when making any complaint to the police, unless they have a way of making money out of it they are not interested.

I wonder if Prayuts listening, he's still determined to stamp out this behaviour.

[IAMHERE]

6 hours ago, tlcwaterfall said:

"He was forced to apologize".

 

He should have been sacked on the spot if the commanding officer had any decency, intelligence or commonsense.

Could it be that that is the kind of officer that produces the most for the outfit. Perhaps the officer is considered a real rain maker by the force. If there is a next time he'll take the report and trash it soon after the whiner leaves. In my dreams the officer wasn't released on the spot so that the PM can show his determination to improve the RTP by firing the officer himself. 

[Regyai]

7 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Typical response when making any complaint to the police, unless they have a way of making money out of it they are not interested.

Should have reported that her 10baht gold chain went down the hole

 

...it would have been plugged shut with brown attired parasites within the hour

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, joloit said:

It‘s difficult to believe their reaction!!

How long have you been in Thailand? Or maybe its sarcasm ????It's far far far from being unusual. A friend of mine was asked for 100,000 baht to investigate when his house was robbed and his stuff and the SUV they found the keys of were stolen. The 'security guard' at the gated community even disappeared the same day, but they weren't interested unless he paid them. He and his Thai wife left Thailand soon after, he back to Australia and she glad to go with him and see the back of her third world cesspool of a country.

[berrec]

8 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Typical response when making any complaint to the police, unless they have a way of making money out of it they are not interested.

Just inform them a bag of money fell into the hole! 5555

 

[NE1]

Thai PM continues corruption drive - he's determined to tidy up the RTP's bent officers.............????

[The Hammer2021]

3 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

In Thailand, you have to think like this:

 

Why would you pay three times the going rate for next to nothing extra in return?

 

If you have the money, just hire three of them. 

 

That single person is never going to improve regardless of how much you pay him, he's already at the limit of his capabilities. 

Pure drivel- racist nonsense

[scubascuba3]

37 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Pure drivel- racist nonsense

Story can't be true, this wouldn't happen in Thailand, must be those racists again don't you think?

[thailand49]

Apologize only because it got out.  Years ago my Thai neighbor was taking his daughter to school a drunk in a truck ran them down the daughter died. It was suggested they check the 7/11 cameras the response was pretty close. 

Here they work for themselves not the people. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by thailand49